Thursday, 27 October 2011

The next Meeting of the North East Neighbourhood Committee will be Monday 31st October 2011 in the Webb Estate Tenants Hall from 7.00pm.This is your chance to question all your councillors from the North East Wards (Cazenove, Hackney Downs, Leabridge, New River and Springfield).This is the first time the committee has met since the summer and the agenda includes a report on the civil unrest of the summer and a report on the new transport plan. Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe will also be present to answer questions from residents.A full agenda and supporting documents can be found here.http://mginternet.hackney.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=131&MId=1653

Sunday, 2 October 2011

In a packed room in Stamford Hill Library on 21st September local residents discussed the causes and consequences of the August Riots with a panel of speakers including Diane Abbott MP, Cllr Ian Rathbone, Fr Rob Wickham from St Johns Church Hackney and local lawyer Sarah McSherry .

The meeting had been organised by Springfield , Cazenove and New River Branch Labour Parties and was chaired by Martin Dockrell the Chair of Springfield Labour Party.

The panel and audience discussed the myriad and complex causes of the riots and the positive response the next day by the local community who were quick to organise events such as the Clean-up Campaign and Clarence Road Tea Party .

The North-East Neighbourhood Committee will discuss the riots in more detail at the next Meeting on 31st October.

I will be taking part in an examination of issues surrounding the riots as part of the work programme of the Community Safety and Social Inclusion Scrutiny Commission.

Some Facts about the riots are summarised below.

Incidents in Hackney

· 6th/7th August - Saturday night/Sunday morning: As noted above, the first incidents in Hackney took place in Dalston; there were a few incidents of theft/looting and attempted theft, with some damage to 5 chain stores in and around Kingsland Shopping Centre. 12 arrests were made.· Monday 8th August: The main disturbances in Hackney took place on Monday, 8th August. They were focussed in Hackney Central and Hackney Downs. No buildings were burnt, although around 16 shops and businesses (8 locally owned) were broken into or suffered direct damage, and around 24 cars were torched. A single decker bus was also attacked and set on fire in Shacklewell Lane. Further arrests were made (52 in total, over the two days).· Tuesday 9th August: There were no disturbances, bar one burglary.

The police are still assessing extensive CCTV footage of the disturbances, which will provide a fuller picture of the number and scale of incidents around the borough.

Overview of arrests (as at 6th September)

Over 2,000 arrests have now been made in connection with the disturbances across London, and over 1,100 people have been charged. Approximately 25% of the arrests and charges have been for juveniles, and 75% for adults.

In Hackney, 167 people have been arrested for offences in the borough since 8th August Of that total, 41 were bailed for further enquires, 112 were charged, and no further actions were taken on 14 (although some have since been re-arrested with CCTV evidence).

The age breakdown of the 167 arrests is as follows:Under 18: 3318-25 yrs old: 90Over 25: 377 need clarification on DOB

The Boundary Commission has published proposals for re-drawing the boundaries of the Parliamentary Constituencies . These will affect the boundaries of our constituency of Hackney North.

It is proposed the current constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington will loose three wards namely Clissold, Stoke Newington Central and Dalston and will gain Kings Park, Chatham and Wick from Hackney South and Seven Sisters from Tottenham.

Hackney's secondary schools continue to show an astonishing level of improvement.This year’s GCSE results for Hackney school students are the best ever and for the first time ever students have achieved results above the national average .Seventy-five per cent of students secured five good GCSEs, a rise of over 4% on last year.A total of 58% of Hackney students achieved five good GCSEs which included English and Maths – a rise of almost 3% on last year. This places the borough above both last year’s national and Inner London averages.Although the final figures have not yet been published it is expected that Key Stage results will show a similar level of improvement

The City and Hackney Health and Wellbeing Profile provides a detailed description of the health and wellbeing needs of the local population.The Health and Wellbeing Profile provides a 'big picture' of local needs, ranging from the social and environmental conditions which shape health and wellbeing through to the specific illnesses and conditions that local people suffer from. The profile is used to improve the way the Council and the NHS commission and deliver services for local people.A link to the Springfield Health and Well-Being Profile appears below,